The Tampa Bay Buccaneers went from looking buried to getting a fresh jolt of life in one Thursday night swing.
After opening 0-4 and sinking to the bottom of the NFC South, Tampa went into Dallas and knocked off the Cowboys in Week 5, a result that changed the mood around the team fast. The Bucs finally showed some of the upside people expected before the season, and ESPN’s latest NFL power rankings rewarded them with a small climb from 30th to 27th.
That bump doesn’t suddenly erase the first month. Tampa is still sitting near the league’s basement, and there’s still plenty of ground to make up before talk of the division or a playoff push means much. But the win over Dallas at least kept the season from feeling like it was slipping away in mid-October.
A week ago, the picture looked far uglier.
Baker Mayfield was hurt, leaving Tampa to hand the offense to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels with the season on the line. First-round pick Rueben Bain Jr. had been a letdown through the early part of the year and then missed the next two games with shoulder and groin injuries after sitting out the opener’s first two contests without making much noise. The pass rush had barely shown up, the offense line had underwhelmed, and the Bucs were carrying a minus-5 turnover differential through the first four games.
They were also looking down the barrel of a season that seemed ready to go off the rails. Tampa had lost 11 of its last 13 games, looked lifeless at times, and Todd Bowles’ grip on the job appeared to be getting shakier by the week.
Then Thursday night happened.
Daniels helped lead the upset, Bucky Irving delivered a career night, Emeka Egbuka posted his best game of the season, and the defense came up with two Dak Prescott interceptions while holding Dallas to a season-low 16 points. For one night, the Bucs looked like the team that was supposed to show up this fall.
ESPN’s weekly rankings focused on defensive problems across the league, and for Tampa, Jenna Laine landed on one word to describe the biggest issue: inconsistency.
" Biggest issue on defense: Inconsistency
"You don't know who or what you're going to get with the Bucs right now. Take inside linebacker Alex Anzalone, who struggled mightily early in the season but was a standout Thursday night with his game-sealing interception.
There was a reason he was tested so many times by Dak Prescott over the middle. When the offense doesn't turn the ball over, and the defense can get some takeaways of its own, the Bucs can make enough plays to win games.
The key is doing it on a play-by-play and week-to-week basis. -- Jenna Laine"
Alex Anzalone’s turnaround Thursday night was used as the clearest example of that volatility. After struggling early in the year, he came through with the game-sealing interception against Dallas.
There’s still another obvious concern hanging over this defense, though: the pass rush. Tampa has only six sacks through five games, and Bain hasn’t provided the impact the Bucs were hoping for after all the offseason buzz. The situation gets even more puzzling when you factor in David Walker, whom the source material identifies as Tampa Bay’s best pass rusher so far, yet who has barely played under Bowles.
For now, the Buccaneers can at least enjoy moving in the right direction. At 1-4, they’re only 1.5 games behind the 2-2 Carolina Panthers in the NFC South. That won’t make the first month disappear, but after the way Tampa looked against Dallas, the season no longer feels quite so lost.
In Other News...
Buccaneers Just Sent A Loud Message About Their National Pull
The Buccaneers Thursday night matchup with the Cowboys did more than give Tampa Bay a national showcase. It helped underline how far the team has come in terms of national draw, with the game landing in a premium slot on Prime Video and feeding into a broader surge for the streaming package around Thursday Night Football.
Prime Videos early TNF numbers have been strong across the board, and the platform has seen its pregame and postgame coverage pick up, too. For the Buccaneers, that matters because games like this do not just shape the immediate conversation around the team, they also keep putting Tampa Bay in front of a bigger audience at a time when the leagues media landscape is shifting fast. [Read more 🡒]
Chris Godwin Just Fueled Growing Bucs Optimism Around Jalon Daniels
When Baker Mayfield went down, the Buccaneers turned to undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels, and the offense at least found enough stability to grab its first win of the season in Week 5. For a team trying to stay in the NFC South race, that mattered almost as much as the result itself, because Tampa Bay suddenly has a quarterback situation that feels less like a crisis and more like a chance to keep building.
Chris Godwin has become one of the louder believers in Daniels, praising the rookies poise and the way he carries himself in the huddle. The veteran receiver also pointed to Daniels charisma and the kind of positive energy that can spread quickly through a locker room, a promising sign for a Buccaneers team staring at a stretch of games it can realistically use to climb right back into contention. [Read more 🡒]
Buccaneers Still Have One Big Quarterback Decision Before Steelers
Baker Mayfields hand injury has left the Buccaneers sorting through one of the more important decisions on their early-week checklist before the Steelers arrive. Mayfield is expected to test his grip and throwing ability as part of his recovery, and the results of that session will help shape whether Tampa Bay can keep its plan centered on its veteran passer or has to keep moving ahead with the next man up.
Jalon Daniels has handled the offense over the last two games, with the Buccaneers going 1-1 in that stretch, and he is anticipated to start against Pittsburgh unless Mayfield gets cleared sooner than expected. It leaves Tampa Bay in a holding pattern for now, with the staff balancing short-term stability against the possibility of getting its usual starter back in time to change the outlook before kickoff. [Read more 🡒]